Last week I decided to expand the downstairs hall cat platform around the corner into the living room to give Birdie greater access to the goings on in the house. I got a new platform cut, primed and painted, and hung it up last night.
In August, we adopted Birdie [our 3rd cat] from the shelter. We quickly realized she was terrified of Bonkers [our 2nd cat], who made it his business to stalk and harass her. Bonkers can’t jump, so Birdie spent her days sleeping on the art desk in the girl cave or on the upstairs hall cat platforms. We bought her a cat tree for the master bedroom so she’d have a Bonkers free safe zone in there, as well.
Back in July I bought a Black and Decker orbital sander on Amazon [and accompanying pack of sanding discs]. Saturday was the first day I used it, to sand down the edges of the cat platform I’m building for the living room, which will be an extension of the one I built for the downstairs hallway. It was so much fun!
6 weeks ago I installed the bedroom fan, 4 weeks ago I installed the girl cave fan, and 3 weeks ago I installed the living room fan. We noticed pretty fast that each time I installed a new fan, the remote control for the new fan overrode the remotes for any previously installed fans. Since I installed the living room fan last, the living room fan remote now controlled the living room fan, the girl cave fan, and the master bedroom fan. Bitch! Apparently this is because of “frequency interference”.
When I installed the bedroom ceiling fan and the girl cave ceiling fan, I was more concerned with getting them up and wiring them correctly, and less concerned with documenting the process for my blog. But with the living room fan install, it was all about the documentation. Maybe that’s why it was the hardest, longest install!!! OMG.
Over the course of the past week I cut, primed and installed a “step” for the downstairs hall cat platforms, making the downstairs hall cat platforms officially complete. Hopefully the step will make it easier for Birdie to jump up and down off the main platforms. The chair I had there in the interim wasn’t working very well [too low & too awkward – and by the way – what’s up with that ugly cushion! I never noticed that before… that’s got to go].
So yeah, today I got to experience electrocution. And it was about what I expected. It felt like someone snapped a rubber band across my finger tips. Hubby describes it as a “painful tingling sensation” which is about right. I remember my Dad getting zapped a few times growing up. He’d always whip his hand away from the outlet with a “gah!” sound, and that was about what I did. I’ve always been curious to know what it felt like, and now I know!
Last weekend I was mostly a slug, asides from speed-walking a 5k with hubby Saturday morning. But by Sunday afternoon I’d garnered enough energy to install the girl cave ceiling fan. It took half the time as the bedroom fan install, mostly because I could easily reach it from my ladder! And I knew [mostly] what I was doing this time around.
After adopting Birdie from the shelter last month, we quickly realized she needed places off the floor to escape Bonkers’ relentless pursuit. He can’t jump, so anywhere over a foot off the ground is generally safe, but she prefers to be about 4 feet up. She’s been using the upstairs hall cat platforms and my art table in the girl cave as her main hang outs but we want her to feel safe downstairs, too.
So yesterday after work I decided to move the cat platform from the girl cave back out to the hallway. This time I placed it right up at windowsill level, like the main platform is, since Birdie has a point of access with the other platform. It’s location will give her direct visual access to the upstairs hall, the stairwell, and the downstairs hall, so she can better assess Bonkers’ position. My version of a feline early warning system.
